Amos 9

CHAPTER 9THEME: Vision of worldwide dispersion, regathering and restorationThis chapter concludes the message of judgment which Amos has been delivering to Israel. Then Amos looks into the far future and gives the glorious prospect of the restored kingdom of Israel.

Amos 9:1

This describes the coming of the Assyrians. We need to understand that “the altar” is not the altar of Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem but is probably the altar of the temple to Baal in Samaria. I have seen the ruins of this temple in Samaria. “Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them.” At the time of the siege, the people would seek refuge in the temples, but the temples would be brought down so suddenly that many of the people would be trapped when the pillars crumbled. “He that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered.” Those who would escape alive from the city would be carried into captivity. Now notice this frightful statement

Amos 9:2

“Though they dig into hell.” The word translated “hell” is the Hebrew word sheol, meaning “the grave or the place of the dead.” There are two things which cause the terror of the wicked. In our day, folk have been so brainwashed by our society that many of them try to blot it out of their minds; but if they give any thought to it at all, the two things which bring terror to the heart of the wicked person are the omnipresence and the immutability of God. God is omnipresent; that is, He is everywhere. Even death cannot separate you from Him. And the immutability of God means that God never changes. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. These two truths are a great comfort to God’s children, but they are frightening to the wicked. To the child of God the omnipresence of God assures him that God will never leave him. The Lord Jesus said, “…I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Heb_13:5). How wonderful that is! Also He said, “…him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (Joh_6:37). When He receives you, He receives you for eternity. No one can take you out of His hand; and, if you are in His hand, you are very close to Him, you see. The Lord Jesus also likened our relationship to Him to that of a vine and its branches. What can be closer to a vine than its branch? The omnipresence of God is a great comfort to the believer. However, for the unbeliever, the omnipresence of God is a terror. Many people commit suicide because they want to get away from it all. A prominent man here in Southern California left a suicide note which read, “I want to end it all and get rid of this life.” Well, he got rid of his problems and a great many things which were annoying him herehe was in deep troublebut he didn’t get rid of God. Death didn’t separate him from God. David understood this when he wrote, “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there” (Psa_139:7-8).

And the poet Francis Thompson was not being irreverent when he characterized God as “the hound of heaven” because, regardless of who you are, God is right on your track. You cannot get rid of Him. Then there is the immutability of God. God didn’t learn anything new by reading the morning newspaper. The president or the Senate or the college professors or the scientists cannot teach God anything that is new to Him. He doesn’t change His mind. He never changes. “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever” (Heb_13:8). That is wonderful for the child of God to know. The same One who walked by the Sea of Galilee, who was so gracious and merciful to people, is still the same One who walks with the believer today.

Amos 9:3

“And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence.” The city of Haifa is located on Carmel today. Mount Carmel is wooded and rises to a height of about eighteen hundred feet. I have been there several times and have noted the caves which are along the sides of that mountain. It is said that there are over a thousand caves there, especially on the side toward the sea. But even there God said he would search them out. And although they should try to hide in the bottom of the sea, they would find God there. They could not escape Him.

Amos 9:4

“And though they go into captivity before their enemies"that is, going voluntarily in order to spare their lives, they still will not escape God’s judgment. My friend, the wicked do well to fear God and to fear the future. There is no escape for them. The man who commits suicide, thinking that he will get rid of his troubles, will move into real trouble when he faces God. It is like jumping from the frying pan into the fireand that almost literally.

Amos 9:5

You cannot go through that land today without being conscious of the fact that it certainly is no longer a land of milk and honey. Even with all the irrigation and cultivation, it is far from that. Judgment has come upon it. When I was in a hotel there, I met a lovely Jewish couple in the elevator. We began to talk about the land. They had come out to buy an apartment. They thought they might retire permanently to Israel or at least spend part of the year there. He told me very candidly, “Although we bought the apartment because we want to help our people in this land, we really don’t ever expect to use it. I don’t think this is the land that the Bible says it is.” Obviously, he had not read the prophecy of Amos and did not realize that God’s judgment had come upon the land.

Amos 9:6

In this beautiful way Amos is reminding his people of the omnipotence of God. Not only is He omnipresent, but He is also omnipotent. It is He who does all of this. Out yonder in the heavens, the sun, the moon, the planets, the tremendous galaxies, the quasars, the whole universe obeys God. He has made certain laws by which they are to move, and they obey those laws. But little manlittle man is in rebellion against the omnipotent God. In effect, Amos is asking Israel, “Do you think we can escape such a God?” Now here is one of the strangest statements in the Bible, and it is quite wonderful

Amos 9:7

When God wanted them to know how much He loved them, He said, “I love you as I love the Ethiopians!” At the time that the Italians under Mussolini invaded Ethiopia in 1935, I made a study of the biblical prophecies concerning Ethiopia. It was amazing to me to discover the place which Ethiopia has in the program of God for the future. It is a nation which may seem very unimportant to us, but it is very important to God.

Amos 9:8

“The sinful kingdom” is Israel, of course. “I will destroy it from off the face of the earth” means that He will destroy it as a separate kingdom. When God returns the people of Israel to their land, they will not be a divided kingdom but will be one nation under the sovereignty of the One sitting on the throne of David.

Amos 9:9

“I will sift the house of Israel among all nations.” If you want to know where the so-called “lost tribes of Israel” are, look in your phone book for the Cohens, the Goldbergs, etc. They are scattered throughout the world, but they are not “lost” as far as God is concerned. “Yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.” God will not lose one of them.

Amos 9:10

How about the sinners? They are going to die. He will judge the individuals who won’t turn to Him. We have the same analogy in the contemporary church. Not all church members are saved. Believe me, if you have been a pastor as long as I have, you would know that not all church members are genuine believersbut they are church members. And the apostle Paul says, “…For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel” (Rom_9:6). There are two kinds of Israelites, the natural and the spiritual Israel. Although “not the least grain” will fall to the ground, all sinners of the nation will perish, especially the defiant ones whom Amos has been addressing. This brings us to the final vision of Amos, that of the worldwide regathering and restoration of the Kingdom of the Lord. Amos saw beyond the terrible days of judgment and scattering of His people, even beyond the Great Tribulation (which is still future in our day).

Amos 9:11

The phrase “in that day” refers to the last days of Israel. “In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen.” To follow through on this, listen to James in Acts 15 where he quotes this prophecy of Amos: “And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me: Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things. Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world” (Act_15:13-18). Today God is calling out a people for His name among the Gentiles. After this He will raise up the tabernacle of David. In other words, God is speaking of the Kingdom Age, the Millennium, the greatest day which is yet in the future.

Amos 9:12

There will be many nations which will enter the Millennium.

Amos 9:13

This is the proof of what I have mentioned previously, that when the people of Israel are being blessed, the land of Israel is being blessed. The people and the land belong together. God makes it clear that when He returns the people of Israel to their land, it will again be the land of milk and honey. The land is not that now; so I take it that the present return is not the one which is predicted. Although Jews are returning to their land, they are not returning to their God.

Amos 9:14

God is going to restore Israel to the land. Never again will it be the southern kingdom of Judah and the northern kingdom of Israel. It will all be Israel, an undivided kingdom, as it was in the beginning of its history. It will be all twelve tribes. They are scattered over the whole world today. They are sifted among all nations. Any idea that “the lost tribes” are the people of Great Britain and of the United States is unscriptural. The prophecy clearly states that they will be sifted among all nations. Just look around you. Has God done that, or hasn’t He done it? But it will not be that way forever. God will return them to the land. “I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them.”

Amos 9:15

When God puts them in the land, they will be there permanently. These are the things God has said He will do for His people: (1) He is going to restore the Davidic dynasty. Who do you think will be the king? It will be a son of David by the name of Jesus, born in Bethlehem of the houses and lineage of David. He will be the ruler. (2) Israel will take her place among the nations of the world. She will no longer go to the United Nations with her hat in her hand (nor will she be shutting out Arabs). She will be a nation that is going to be blessed of God and will occupy a place among the nations of the world. (3) In addition to this, there will be a conversion of the nations of the world!

This will occur after the church leaves this earth. The greatest conversion to Christ is still in the future. What a day that will be! When God returns Israel to her land, (4) they will build the waste cities and inhabit them. (5) They will eat the fruit of their gardens and drink the wine of their vineyards. The curse on the land will be lifted, and it will produce bountifully. (6) And the people of Israel “shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.”